| Amanda Blumenherst | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | (1986-11-04)November 4, 1986 (age 39) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. | ||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||
| Sporting nationality | United States | ||||
| Residence | Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. | ||||
| Spouse | Nate Freiman | ||||
| Career | |||||
| College | Duke University | ||||
| Turned professional | 2009 | ||||
| Current tours | Futures Tour (joined 2009) LPGA Tour (joined2010) | ||||
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |||||
| Chevron Championship | 30th: 2008 | ||||
| Women's PGA C'ship | 71st: 2010 | ||||
| U.S. Women's Open | T10:2006 | ||||
| Women's British Open | T54: 2011 | ||||
| Evian Championship | 74th: 2013 | ||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||
| |||||
| (For a full list of awards, seehere) | |||||
Amanda Blumenherst (born November 4, 1986) is an Americanprofessional golfer who plays on the U.S.-basedLPGA Tour. She was a three-time National Player of the Year atDuke University and won theU.S. Women's Amateur title in 2008. In 2013, she announced that she would take a leave from professional golf to spend more time with her husband, major league baseball playerNate Freiman.
Blumenherst was born inScottsdale, Arizona, the daughter of Amy (McClure) and David Blumenherst.[1][2] She began playing golf at the age of four. She attended high school atXavier College Preparatory inPhoenix, where she was a four-timeRolex All-American and was the third-ranked national recruit as a senior. She led Xavier College Prep to the 5A state championships for four straight years. She held Arizona's 5A High School Girls' Golf State Tournament record with a score of 69–66=135 (−9).
Blumenherst married Oakland A's baseball playerNate Freiman in December 2012.[3][4][5] He holds Duke University's career home run record, and the school's second-highest all-time batting average. The two were Duke'sACC Senior Male and Female Athletes of the Year in 2009.[6]
Freiman has caddied for her seven times at LPGA tournaments.[3][7] "I'm probably more nervous than she is. I don't choose the clubs, but I have to give her the yardage. I'm adding up all of the numbers, and I better be right. It's nerve-wracking, but a lot of fun," he said.[8]
In August 2013, she announced that she would take a leave from professional golf at the end of the year to spend more time with her husband.[9][10] She said: "I don't want to say I'm retiring, because you never know what will happen. Maybe I'll decide in a couple years to come back, and this will just be a little break, you never know."[10] The couple had a son, William David, in November 2014.[11]
AtDuke University inDurham,North Carolina, Blumenherst was named the National Freshman of the Year by numerous publications. She had the lowest stroke average by a Duke freshman, 71.62, and was the second freshman at Duke to win her first collegiate golf tournament. She set aBlue Devil freshman record with a 54-hole total of 208 at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
Blumenherst was named theNGCA National Player of the Year for the second year in a row. She won the Golfstat Cup to joinLorena Ochoa as the only two-time winners. She set a school-record 71.00 stroke average, and tied an NCAA record with a 63 (−9) at the NCAA East Regionals.
Blumenherst won her second consecutiveHonda Sports Award for golf as the best collegiate female golfer, which put her in the running for theHonda-Broderick Cup award as the collegiate Female Athlete of the Year.[12][13] She was named theACC Player of the Year for the third consecutive year, and had 30 career top 10 finishes. She won her third straight individual ACC championship inDaytona Beach, Florida, and finished fifth at the NCAA championships atAlbuquerque. She led the Blue Devils to a second-place team finish at the NCAA East Regional and a third-place national finish in New Mexico. Blumenherst won a third "NCGA" National Player of the Year award.
In her senior year, Blumenherst saw less impressive results, winning only once during the regular season, while still being named theACC Co-Player of the Year.[14] She graduatedmagna cum laude with a 3.84 GPA from Duke in May 2009 with a degree in history and minors inEnglish and Theater.
She was awarded theDinah Shore Trophy Award by the LPGA Foundation for the second consecutive year.[15] The award is presented to the female collegiate golfer who excels in both academics and athletics, while also demonstrating outstanding leadership skills and community service. In 2009, Blumenherst was a semi-finalist (one of twelve) for the Sullivan Award given annually to the world's most outstanding amateur athlete. She was also one of nine finalists for the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
In 2008 Blumenherst finished 30th at the LPGAKraft Nabisco Championship on the LPGA Tour, and in 2006 and 2008 she helped the U.S. win theCurtis Cup. At the2006 U.S. Women's Open, she finished tied for tenth and shared lowamateur honors withJane Park. The following year she finished tied for 50th at the2007 U.S. Women's Open, one of four amateurs to make the cut. She advanced to the second round of match play at theU.S. Women's Amateur Public Links (WAPL), and at theNorth and South Women's Amateur. Blumenherst was the runner-up at the 2007U.S. Women's Amateur, falling 1 up toMariajo Uribe in 36 holes. In2008, she again made the cut at the U.S Women's Open and finished tied for 38th. A month later she won the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur inEugene, Oregon, with a 2 & 1 victory over NCAA champion,Azahara Muñoz, in the 36-hole final on August 10.
On May 27, 2009, Blumenherst announced that she turned professional and had signed with theIMG sports management company and withNike Golf as a paid member of its touring staff. Her amateur accomplishments qualified her for membership of theFutures Tour and she played in six Futures Tour events in the summer of 2009, with three top-10 finishes. Blumenherst was the medalist at the first stage of the LPGAQualifying Tournament in September; she was 16 under par over four rounds to win by six strokes. Later that month Blumenherst, entered on a sponsor's exemption, finished tied for 5th at theCVS/Pharmacy LPGA Challenge in California. In December atDaytona Beach, she won the five-round LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament by two strokes to earn her tour card for2010.[16]
Blumenherst played the first two tournaments of the2010 LPGA season, theHonda PTT LPGA Thailand and theHSBC Women's Champions, as sponsors' invites. She finished T18 and 62nd, respectively, but as a sponsor invite her earnings did not count on the official LPGA money list. She went on to play in 22 tournaments and finished 51st on the 2010 money list and 4th in the LPGA Rookie of the Year standings, won by Muñoz.
| Tournament | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | 30LA | T41 | T70 | CUT | ||||
| LPGA Championship | 71 | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||||
| U.S. Women's Open | T10TLA | T50 | T38 | T52 | CUT | CUT | CUT | |
| Women's British Open | CUT | T54 | CUT | |||||
| The Evian Championship ^ | 74 | |||||||
^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.
LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
T = tied
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| LPGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| U.S. Women's Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| Women's British Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| The Evian Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 10 |
| Year | Tournaments played | Cuts made* | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10s | Best finish | Earnings ($) | Money list rank | Scoring average | Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T10 | n/a | 72.00 | n/a | |
| 2007 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T50 | n/a | 74.00 | n/a | |
| 2008 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | n/a | 73.87 | n/a | |
| 2009 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T5 | 74,0251 | n/a | 71.56 | n/a |
| 2010 | 22 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | T7 | 178,1812 | 51 | 72.86 | 64 |
| 2011 | 22 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T9 | 164,930 | 54 | 73.16 | 66 |
| 2012 | 23 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T5 | 105,668 | 76 | 74.11 | 114 |
| 2013 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T13 | 49,182 | 102 | 73.72 | 124 |
* Includes matchplay and other events with no cut.
1 Blumenhurst turned pro in May 2009 and was not an LPGA member; earnings were unofficial for the 2009 LPGA money list.
2 Earnings at the 2010 Honda PTT LPGA Thailand ($16,156) and 2010 HSBC Women's Champions ($3,251) were unofficial under LPGA rules and are not included.
Amateur